Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of workers who are expected to be paid less than the National Minimum Wage during the period of the national restrictions that are being introduced from 5 November in (a) Leeds East constituency, (b) Leeds (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) nationwide.

The Government is clear that employers must comply with National Minimum Wage legislation and pay their workers at least the minimum wage for hours worked.

The Government is committed to ensuring workers receive the pay that they are owed, more than doubling the budget for National Minimum Wage enforcement. Indeed, last year was another strong year for minimum wage enforcement, with £20.8 million in pay arrears identified for over 263,000 workers.

The Government will continue to support workers across the United Kingdom during this pandemic. Through our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, we have supported 9.6 million jobs with claims worth £41.4 million. On August 31st, 4,000 jobs in Leeds East, 35,700 jobs In Leeds and 220,000 jobs in Yorkshire and the Humber were supported through the Job Retention Scheme. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that we will extend the scheme through to 31^st March 2021, to continue to protect jobs and provide certainty.